News

Recycled cooking oil saves money and energy in Hertfordshire

07
Dec
2011

If you’ve been recycling used cooking oil at the Hertfordshire County Council Household Waste Recycling Centres then you’ve been helping to reduce the cost of repairs to damaged drains and watercourses and also providing electricity to power the National Grid.

That’s the message that Hertfordshire County Council and its residents are celebrating after being presented with a certificate by green energy company Living Fuels, praising them for recycling enough used cooking oil to provide the energy to make over 5 million cups of tea!

Used cooking oil has traditionally been difficult to dispose of and research has shown that the majority of householders in the UK are still throwing it down the sink. However getting rid of used cooking oil this way not only harms watercourses and wildlife but adds to your bill from water companies who have to spend on average £15 million per year to service drains blocked with fats and grease.

Many Hertfordshire residents are already recycling used cooking oil responsibly, thanks to a scheme pioneered by Living Fuels, in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council. Living Fuels provides used cooking oil tanks at sites around the county for residents to dispose of their oil. Once collected, the dirty oil is recovered into a clean, green bioliquid called LF100 through a 100% natural process involving no additional chemicals or heat. In turn, that fuels CHP (combined heat and power) units which generate carbon-neutral electricity and heat that is fed into the National Grid.

Rob Murphy, Operations Director of Living Fuels said: “Pouring oil down the drain has been causing problems with the Victorian drainage system in the UK for a while now, and the problem is only going to keep getting worse if people aren’t educated about the perils of tipping their waste oil down the drain. By recycling your used cooking oil, you really are benefitting the environment. Living Fuels are proud to be working with the people of Hertfordshire to help reduce the county’s carbon footprint and save money on water bills.”

Derrick Ashley, Cabinet Member for Transformation, Performance and Waste Management, said: “Hertfordshire residents work really hard to do their bit to protect the environment by recycling and reducing waste. However, by disposing of cooking oil responsibly we can make even more of a difference. This is a win, win scenario as the cooking oil tanks are free to use at our HWRCs around the county and by using them, residents are protecting the environment and ultimately reducing their water bills as well.”

Visit www.wasteaware.org.uk/ to find your nearest Hertfordshire Household Waste Recycling Centre that takes waste vegetable oil or for general information about recycling and centre opening hours. For further information about recycling oil at other sites visit www.livingfuels.co.uk.